By Emma Peter, Abuja
Former Vice President and presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to embark on a three-week vacation in Europe, arguing that the country is currently facing serious economic and security challenges that require the President’s attention.
Atiku, in a statement reacting to the Presidency’s announcement that Tinubu would depart Abuja on Sunday for a three-week working vacation, said Nigeria might not be facing a constitutional vacuum, but was experiencing what he described as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership.”
The former Vice President acknowledged that he had travelled and lived abroad on several occasions, but stressed that there was a fundamental difference between the movement of a private citizen and the responsibilities attached to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, Tinubu was leaving behind a country where Nigerians are struggling with high petrol prices, rising food costs, increased transportation fares and persistent insecurity.
Atiku questioned the timing of the President’s vacation, particularly against the backdrop of the current hardship being experienced by millions of Nigerians.
“The issue here is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher,” Atiku said.
He further argued that the President’s decision was difficult to understand because Vice President Kashim Shettima was also outside the country on official duties.
Atiku said effective leadership required more than the constitutional authority to occupy the highest political office, insisting that it also involved the judgment to recognise moments when the country needed its leader at home.
Using a family analogy, the former Vice President said: “A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport.”
He said millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford basic necessities and transportation, while the President was travelling abroad for an extended period.
“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving,” he said.
Atiku also accused the Tinubu administration of failing to adequately appreciate the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, warning that a government that could not “feel the pain it inflicts” would struggle to develop the political will required to address the problems.
He concluded with a direct political message, saying: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
The reaction followed an earlier announcement by the Presidency that President Tinubu would leave Abuja for Europe as part of his annual leave. According to the announcement, his first stop would be London, United Kingdom, after which he is expected to return to Nigeria following the three-week vacation.
The development has already generated political debate, with Atiku’s criticism adding a fresh dimension to the opposition’s scrutiny of the President’s handling of the country’s economic and security challenges.
